Monday, May 11, 2026
Home Blog Page 1032

‘Desus & Mero’ Discuss What To Do When A Pet Overdoses On Marijuana

A funny story about accidentally eating marijuana edibles or cannabis in any form usually involves a human. Just this week, a nine-year-old girl accidentally dosed her fellow classmates by bringing some marijuana-infused gummies to school.

But as Kid Mero says, “It’s not just kids you gotta worry about getting into your edibles, fam.”

Mero, of course, is one half of Viceland’s hilarious late-night show Desus & Mero. The duo often riff on the news and stories of the day, a mashup of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption and Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. While the pair did discuss the above story of elementary school kids eating edibles, they also went long on pets accidentally eating marijuana-infused treats.

“You can’t take them to the vet because legally if you bring your animal to the vet and they’ve ingested drugs, they have to report it,” Desus said. “So it’s a hard night where you’re stroking Mr. Fluffles like, ‘Yo, don’t go to sleep, my dude.’”

“Brody fell asleep for like two days and I was like, ‘Yo hope you wake up,’” Kid Mero added laughing.

The funniest part of the bit comes when a news segment about dogs ingesting edibles shows a dog that had done just that. Desus and Mero then riff on just what a “high” dog might be thinking or saying.

Here’s some highlights:

  • “Yo let me watch Planet Earth….and let me hear that new Migos. That shit slaps.”
  • “I got fur, but I’m naked…”
  • “Are these my hands or just front feet?”
  • Pantomiming a dog typing “Purina near me” into google.
  • “She takes me for walks, but then she picks up my doo-doo, so am I the owner?”
  • A high dog experiencing a panic attack at a dog park because it’s “too crowded”
  • “I’m about to go on Instagram Live, fuck it.”

All of it’s in jest, but these stories are good reminders to maybe stash your goods where those who shouldn’t can’t find them.

The Strange And Confusing Reason February Only Has 28 Days

February, the trash heap of the calendar, is fast approaching and we once again start wondering: why is it so effed up? What’s with the short month? The short answer—the Romans.

The show It’s Okay to be Smart on PBS has a quick video (with pictures!) to explain the situation. It starts with the first King of Rome, Romulus, who had a problem organizing all the drunken parties, ceremonies and celebrations. He needed a system to keep track of his social comings and goings and he needed it fast. Nobody wants to miss a good party.

According to IOTBS, ancient astronomers already had accurate calculations for the time between the two solar equinoxes (solstices), and then there were those “natural” calendars in the sky that tracked time, also known as planets. The lunar calendar Romans used had 10 months of either 30 or 31 days, beginning in March and ending in December. The months we know today as January and February did not exist. Obviously, trying to keep track of time between December and March was a huge issue, so the second King of Rome, Numa Pompilius, tried implementing a solution.

Fun fact: even numbers were considered bad luck in ancient Rome — which, you know, makes calendar crafting a bit dicey — so Numa started removing a day from all the even numbered months. Also, he wanted to created a calendar of 12 lunar cycles, which equals 354 days (a dreaded even number), so he rounded his calendar up to 355. The remaining days were split into two months, January and February. The end. Just kidding!

Now, you might be thinking, “But 28 is an even number!” and you’d be correct. But back in the day, February was dedicated to “spiritual purification” so it was cool. Even weirder and way more confusing is that February was initially split up into two parts, with the first part being the first 23 days. However, this stupid calendar would always be out of whack with the seasons by about 10 days, so every other year, Numa added a 27 day “leap month” after February 23 in order to sync up with the season. This way, every four years would average out to 366.25 days, which even if you’re not good at math, you know is too many days.

https://giphy.com/gifs/11Qn87xgbC3sK4

The problem with this plan is that those leap months weren’t always added for whatever reason (war, tiredness, trying to stay alive, political favors, etc.) and by the time Julius Caesar took power, he couldn’t take it anymore and made a big change. A big fan of Egypt’s 365-day calendar, he ditched the lunar calendar in favor of a solar option, and in 46 B.C. a more “normal” calendar began to take shape. Caesar added 10 days to various months to reach 365 days. And, according to IOTBS, since a tropical year is 365.24 days, he added a leap day every four years, confusing people all over the world forever and ever. Hey, at least Valentine’s Day is mid-month, so we have a candy holiday to look forward to. Sugar makes up for a lot of shortcomings.

Is Marijuana Worse Than Tobacco For Cardiovascular Health?

If you consume cannabis, you are three times more likely to die from high blood pressure than those who abstain, according to a shocking new study. What does this mean to your cardiovascular health?

The study, published on Tuesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, found:

Compared with subjects who had never used marijuana, the results revealed that marijuana users were 3.42 times more likely to die from high blood pressure. For each year of marijuana use, the risk of death from hypertension increased by 1.04 times.

Even more surprising, the researchers suggest that marijuana use may be a greater risk factor for poor heart health than smoking tobacco.

“We found higher estimated cardiovascular risks associated with marijuana use than cigarette smoking,” said study author Barbara A. Yankey from Georgia State University. “This indicates that marijuana use may carry even heavier consequences on the cardiovascular system than that already established for cigarette smoking.”

“However, the number of smokers in our study was small and this needs to be examined in a larger study,” she added. “Needless to say, the detrimental effects of marijuana on brain function far exceed that of cigarette smoking.”

The study’s methodology has been questioned by other cannabis researchers. One significant shortcoming in the study is that the researchers did not control for diet and exercise as a factor in cardiovascular risk. It also did not assess whether test subjects ate, vaporized or smoked cannabis.

The study also considered subjects “cannabis users” even if they reported using marijuana just one time and stopped.

Dr. Vinay Prasad, associate professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University and an expert on the design and results of medical studies, found the study’s conclusions suspect.

“It does not prove that if you choose to use marijuana you are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease,” Prasad told The Oregonian. “I think the major limit of the study is that there may be unobserved differences between the people who used and admitted to using marijuana during the years of this study, and cardiovascular outcomes that the researchers did not adjust for.  In fact, that is likely.”

Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told GreenState.com:

“In this specific study, authors conflate subjects’ reporting of having ‘ever used’ cannabis as evidence of current and habitual use. This is likely not the case. Based upon the findings of prior studies, the authors’ interpretation with regard to the degree of this risk potential appears to be sensational, and the methods used in this particular study appear to be highly questionable.”

Recent studies show that roughly 50 percent of U.S. adults have tried marijuana at least once, but only 12 percent are current consumers of cannabis. But Yankey, a student researcher, lumps everyone together — whether you have quit years ago or just tried it once.

Another study published earlier this year, found no connection between cardiovascular health and cannabis. This study concluded:

Neither cumulative lifetime nor recent use of marijuana is associated with the incidence of [cardiovascular disease].

Bottom line: The headline to this story is more likely to cause heart problems than actually consuming cannabis. Clearly, more research is warranted.

The Fresh Toast Marijuana Legislative Roundup: Week Of January 29

Marijuana legalization reform continues to pick up steam nationally. Read all about these developments and more in The Fresh Toast’s Marijuana Legislative Roundup for Jan. 29.

National

On Monday, President Trump signed a budget deal to fund the government through February 8, temporarily extending federal protections on medical marijuana. The continuing resolution signed into law Monday included a provision known as the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds to interfere in state efforts to implement medical marijuana legalization. The Amendment, previously known as Rohrabacher-Farr, has been included in every federal spending bill since its first passage in 2014. In 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote a letter to Congress urging lawmakers not to extend the Amendment in future legislation. As congressional budget negotiations resume following the end of the government shutdown, the fate of the amendment after February 8 remains uncertain.

Vermont

On Monday, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed a bill to legalize adult possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana in the state. The new law allows adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of cannabis and grow up to six plants at home, with a limit of two mature plants and six immature seedlings per household. Cannabis sales and public consumption remain prohibited. With the governor’s signature, Vermont became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana by an act of the legislature, as opposed to a ballot referendum. Governor Scott vetoed an earlier version of the bill last year, citing public health and safety concerns. Whether Vermont will move to create a regulated cannabis market remains unclear. Scott has expressed grave doubts over such a move, but the legislature is expected to develop legislation to create a system of taxation and regulation like those in states such as Washington and Colorado. A cannabis commission created by the governor to make recommendations on such a system will release its findings this year.

Virginia

On Wednesday, a Virginia House subcommittee voted 7-1 against a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in the state. HB 1063 would have reduced first-time possession of up to a half-ounce of marijuana from a criminal violation to a civil infraction punishable by a fine no more than $250. Subsequent violations would be subject to a $1,000 fine. Currently, first time marijuana offenses are subject to a $500 fine and up to 30 days in jail.

Armie Hammer Was Accidental Marijuana Hookup On Latest Film

Thanks to a star turn in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name and a series of lovable, meme-worthy moments that followed, Armie Hammer had a breakthrough 2017. The guy who previously was known as the Winklevoss twins and almost-Dark Batman finally assumed his status as bona fide star.

And what are the perks of being a star? Well, apparently you become everyone’s weed guy on a film set. That’s at least what happened to Hammer on the set of Boots Riley’s directorial debut Sorry To Bother You, which has earned raucous raves out of Sundance.

“The first time I saw him, he gave me some weed,” admits Hammer’s Sorry To Bother You co-star Omari Hardwick.

Riley then interrupted, clarifying what really happened.

“Omari told me, ‘Man, that Armie is a cool dude. He just gave me all this weed as a gift.’ ” Riley said. “Then I saw Armie the next time, he was like, ‘Hey have you seen Omari? I asked him to hold my weed for me.’ ”

The cast had a good laugh about it. Tessa Thompson, who also stars in the film, couldn’t help adding, as Hammer nodded along, “I thought you were so generous. I heard you were on set giving away loads of pot.”

San Francisco Dispensary Offers ‘Bring Your CEO To Buy Weed’ Discount

You know “Bring Your Kid to Work” Day? Well that is, quite literally, child’s play. Because one high-profile dispensary in Silicon Valley decided to hold “Bring Your CEO to the Dispensary” Week this month.

Based in San Francisco with a recent location in Las Vegas, Apothecarium is a luxury cannabis store if you’ve ever seen one. Chandeliers and ornate furniture greets customers in store, so yes things can get a little bougie.

The motive behind asking customers to bring their boss to the weed shop is to help fight stigma regarding what the modern cannabis consumers look like. Alongside the weeklong promotion, different days had discounts for programmers, engineers, architects, designers, lawyers, marketers, and assistants. All customers had to do was show their business card.

“The discounts are intended to remind the public that many people who enjoy cannabis are also high achieving professionals,” the company said.

But as 7×7 Magazine pointed out, this isn’t really the problem worthy of attention. “God knows weed has gotten a bad rap. But here in the Bay Area, our CEOs are holding well-publicized orgies in the Silicon Valley and over-the-top, obviously-drug-fueled shenanigans at Burning Man,” writes Editor-in-Chief Chloé Hennen. “Is this really the stigma that needs fighting?”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGxVPCnO2h/?hl=en&taken-by=apothecariumsf

After 7×7 posted their story, Apothecarium’s PR team announced they were getting rid of the “Bring Your Boss” discount and adding a promotion for construction workers. It really seems like a company trying to save face, if you ask us. As the cannabis industry defines what it wants to look like moving forward, and luxury marijuana brands become even more lucrative enterprises, it’s important to remember who really needs the help. It’s probably not the CEOs attending Burning Man.

Gossip: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Are Getting A Very Scottish Wedding Present From The Queen; Why Celebrities File For Divorce On Friday

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. And when it comes to who is taking who’s name, the royals do things a little differently. On their wedding day, the couple will be given totally new titles. Of course, one title just won’t be enough for the royal couple: In addition to their English titles, Queen Elizabeth II will honor each of them with a second Scottish title on their wedding day.

When Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in 2011, the Queen gave them the formal English titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Harry and Meghan will follow suit: It’s expected that the couple will be named the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

However, it’s tradition for Queen Elizabeth to bestow the newlyweds with Scottish titles as well—and the royals are all about tradition. In addition to their Cambridge titles, William and Kate were given the titles of Earl and Countess of Strathearn. Prince Charles is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, and Prince Philip is known as the Duke of Edinburgh. According to the Press and Journal, these official titles are used when the royals are in Scotland.

As for Harry and Meghan? They’ll likely become the Earl and Countess of Ross. Ross is expected to go to Harry as it has a history of being given to royal second sons.

Their official titles won’t be announced until their wedding day, so we’ll have to wait until then to know exactly which Scottish titles they receive. In the meantime, we’ll be trying to memorize all of the different royal names to keep them straight.

Divorce Attorney Laura Wasser Explains Why Celebrities File For Divorce on Friday, and Other Industry Secrets

Los Angeles divorce attorney Lauren Wasser has dissolved the marriages of many an A-List celebrity: think Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian West, and countless others. “I make it as pleasant as possible under the circumstances and [clients] may say to one of their friends, ‘She was good, go to her,’” Wasser shared with “Entertainment Tonight.”

“It is not a coincidence that [celebrities file for divorce] on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend,” Wasser told ET. “Our hope is that it slips through the news cycle rather than on a Monday, where you are hearing about it for the entire week.”

She also tries to work out the details of the “disso” before the papers get filed, if possible. “We advise couples in the limelight to see if we can get as much as possible resolved before we [file the court documents],” Wasser said.

“When we file the paperwork, it is usually after things have been in the pipeline for some time and have it all really done on the DL without anybody having to know about it, read about it or see it.”

Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!

Many Vegetable Growers Want To Transition to Marijuana

With marijuana stocks providing investors with wicked returns, vegetable growers who already have much of the infrastructure in place to cultivate cannabis are getting involved with legal weed. There is speculation that this transition could eventually provide some exciting new opportunities for investors in the cannabis trade.

Although Canada has had a medical marijuana market in place for sometime, the northern nation plans to implement a fully legal recreational market later this year. Since marijuana has proven to be a more profitable industry than operating a greenhouse that manufactures tomatoes and bell peppers, companies like Village Farms are reportedly making the transition from grow marijuana. The company has already converted a large portion of its vegetable greenhouses to marijuana cultivation. The company had the top-earning marijuana stock in 2017, according to the Motley Fool.

The situation has convinced other produce growers to get serious about growing marijuana. It was just weeks ago that the largest grower of tomatoes and sweet peppers in Scandinavia (Alfred Pedersen & Sons) announced a partnership with a medical marijuana firm. The company, which will dedicate millions of acres to growing weed, plans to sell medicinal cannabis to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

In addition, Betrand, which operates hundreds of thousands of tomato growing spaces, recently entered into a deal the same marijuana company. It will convert a significant amount of its greenhouses to cannabis rather than vegetables. The company plans to make the transition in the coming months and begin production by later this summer.

Although most produce companies are not publically traded, The Fool’s Keith Speights suggests that investors might want to look into purchasing stocks from the companies that are.

“Village Farms hasn’t converted all of its production capacity to growing marijuana,” he explains. “I suspect that the company will rapidly switch to marijuana, though, especially if the demand for recreational marijuana in Canada is as great as some predict.”

Speights also recommends that investors consider stocks involving partnerships between medical marijuana firms and produce farmers.

As long as the Canadian pot market goes off without a hitch, investors will likely see large returns.

But there is always a chance that the bottom will drop out.

“Keep in mind, however, that buying marijuana stocks comes with a great deal of risk,” Speights said. “If there’s a delay in legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, for example, it’s likely that the stocks will tank.”

Medical Marijuana Dose is Key For Anxiety Relief

Marijuana for anxiety? That doesn’t make sense, does it? For some, the answer is absolutely.

Anxiety is a problem that affects up to a third of the population in their lifetime. It is recognized as a group of disorders including: 

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Panic Disorder
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Social Anxiety Disorder

Healthcare researchers have noted that the condition goes largely underdiagnosed and untreated.

For those who do seek treatment, a variety of options are available. Psychotherapy and hypnosis help some re-examine the cause and triggers for experiencing anxiety. 

The largest segment of sufferers under a doctor’s care simply medicate and there are many options available. This is no secret to anyone who watches TV with any regularity and is deluged by the parade of anti-anxiety medication commercials. Antidepressants such as Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac have become part of the American vocabulary. Antihistamines, beta-blockers and benzodiazepines (“downers” such as Valium and Xanax) are employed to battle anxiety as well. But prescription options are not without risks including addiction, drowsiness, restlessness, dizziness, constipation and nausea.

In a survey of 1,400 Californians conducted by HelloMD, a robust 76 percent of respondents said they use cannabis to treat anxiety.

Among the medical community, there are still big questions to be answered. A collaborative study involving Brazilian and UK researchers found that frequent cannabis users have been shown to have a higher prevalence of anxiety disorders. The study also states, “However, it is unclear if cannabis use increases the risk of developing long-lasting anxiety disorders.” 

It is the classic chicken and egg argument. Causation has not been proven. While some believe that cannabis may contribute to developing these conditions, others have hypothesized that many people with anxiety self-medicate to relax their symptoms.

We do know that cannabis can cut both ways when it comes to feelings of anxiety:

“Marijuana can lead to symptoms of anxiety, such as panic, in the short-term, but there is a lack of evidence pointing to marijuana as an important risk factor for chronic anxiety disorders …” as the professionals at the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute state online.

“All other things being equal, THC appears to decrease anxiety at lower doses and increase anxiety at higher doses.” 

Rodent research has shown that CBD reduced anxiety when administered in low and medium-sized doses. CBD has also been shown to act as an effective prophylactic in people with social anxiety disorder, showing “significantly reduced anxiety, cognitive impairment and discomfort in speech performance.” Because CBD (or cannabidiol) causes no euphoric experience like THC, it may be a better choice for some not interested in being high.

What we know at this point should be encouraging to cannabis enthusiasts and others seeking to reduce their pharmaceutical intake. Worth noting: going cold turkey off of prescription anxiety meds can be dangerous. People with anxiety disorders should consult with a physician familiar with cannabis therapy before making dramatic changes in their medicine routines.

7 Romantic & Easy Date Ideas For The Cannabis Aficionado

No, but really — how does a person have have better sex or a better relationship? The Fresh Toast has enlisted Rachel Krantz, a sex writer and proud canna-enthusiast, to help readers out with some answers as its sex columnist. No question is off limits, and all questions will remain anonymous. Please send your sex and relationship inquiries to freshlove@thefreshtoast.com. Now, onto this week’s topic: romantic and easy stoned dated ideas.

Q: Hi! My boyfriend and I love to get high sometimes — we live in California, so it’s even legal now! — but we also don’t want to just watch TV every time we get high together. Do you have any ideas for romantic stoned dates  we can go on?

Oh, do I ever. Below are some suggestions for both stay-at-home dates and safe going out high date ideas. A word of caution: if you do go out, please don’t drive. I know it might not be as dangerous as driving drunk, but if you ask me, it’s still dangerous. Plan to walk, take a Lyft, or otherwise have your buzz wear off before you’re getting behind the wheel. OK, now that my disclaimer is out of the way, here are my ideas!

Channel Your Inner Traveler

https://giphy.com/gifs/gilmoregirls-netflix-gilmore-girls-xUPOqAzxcHL9I2JIT6

Take your vape and take a long, exploratory walk. Don’t have a destination in mind — just walk, taking in your surroundings, talking about whatever crosses your mind, taking photos, and generally allowing yourself to channel your inner traveller, taking in your hometown with a sense of adventure and spontaneity. Don’t plan where to stop to eat or what to do — let your feet carry you, and have a sense of fate about your evening, trusting that everything will unfold exactly as it should, the way you often do when you travel.

Get Tons Of Endorphins Flowing

If you tend to be a self-conscious dancer, being a little buzzed may actually help you break out of that. Especially if you’re both feeling extra-happy, going out dancing is a great way to not take yourselves too seriously and feel some sexy bodily contact. If dancing stoned sounds like your worst nightmare, you might want to try seeing some comedy — all that laughing (especially if it’s live) will get your endorphins flowing like woah.

Experiment With Giving Each Other Space 

I did this the other night and it was so fun! My partner and I split a 10 mg HippoTreat and headed to a concert. It was standing-room only, and since I’m a shorty, I couldn’t see much. As the music started and my buzz lightly hit, I suggested I go find a spot closer to the front, since someone tall wouldn’t mind me blocking them if I was alone. It felt weird to part at first, but as the concert went on, it was fun to feel myself tethered to him even though we weren’t physically near each other. About halfway through the concert, after a particularly touching love song, I went back to him. I missed him for that hour — and he had missed me too. It was a nice feeling, accentuated by the music and the HippoTreat, but mostly by the allowance for space we’d given each other while out. Try it sometime and see if a little going-out distance doesn’t make you feel closer.

Go To A Quiet Restaurant That Won’t Rush You

Have you ever gone out on a nice dinner a little stoned? If not, I highly recommend it. Not only will the food taste even better, but you might find your conversation gets a lot more interesting. People tend to make conversation when they go out to eat anyway, but I find that sometimes when I have a stoned dinner date, the conversation gets even more honest and expansive. If you have something you’ve been putting off talking about, this might be the perfect time to do it. You’ll be in a nice environment, feeling open and more generous — and the fact that you’re stoned will be your little secret.

Try To Cook Dinner Together In Silence

https://giphy.com/gifs/love-dog-couple-3o6ZsTVGHnsH4QyE80

Cooking dinner together is always romantic, but you could up your date night game by attempting to cook in stoned silence. Put some music on if you’d like, but challenge each other to coordinate your cuisine non-verbally. You’re sure to make some mistakes, but you’ll feel even more accomplished when you’re finished, and refreshed by what’s basically a cooking meditation.

Trade Off Questions

Ask them something you’ve always wanted to know about them but still don’t, practice listening actively and without judgement, and when they’re done, have them ask you a question. No need to turn each question into a major convo or even respond— think of it as an interview or a game, an opportunity to return to the spirit of your first date, reminding each other that you never know everything about the other person.

If you’re not sure what to ask, I suggest getting  The School Of Life’s “100 Questions” and adding it to your bookshelf. Someone gave this box of questions to my partner as a present, and it’s fantastic! The questions are basically like a fun therapy session — the prompts range from your views on monogamy to the ways in which your childhood affected the way you approach sex. 

Have A “Memory Lane Night”

https://giphy.com/gifs/mark-wahlberg-wahlburgers-memory-lane-kcSG1rpAKxpao

It’s proven that looking through old photos boosts your mood, so why not have a Memory Lane Night, where you take turns going through old photos, videos, and other nostalgic things you want to share with your partner? As with all these ideas, this could be done stone-cold sober as well — but that high school prom picture is sure to be even funnier with a little Mary Jane in the mix.

Have fun!

Don't Miss Your Weekly Dose of The Fresh Toast.

Stay informed with exclusive news briefs delivered directly to your inbox every Friday.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.